The Islamic Republic followed the threat with another earlier this week by Iranian army chief Ayatollah Salehi, warning USS carrier John C Stennis not to return to the Persian Gulf after having left the area through the Straits of Hormuz in a "pre-planned, routine operation."

Likewise, a U.S. Navy spokesman told reporters in an emailed statement Tuesday, "The United States is committed to ensuring the safe flow of maritime traffic in waterways critical to global commerce."

"Our joint naval presence in the Arabian Gulf, something our regional partners appreciate, is key to keeping the Straits of Hormuz open for international trade," UK Defense Secretary Philip Hammond is expected to say in the text of a speech released to the media ahead of his appearance in Washington later Thursday.

Any attempt by Iran to block the waterway in retaliation for sanctions against its oil exports would be "illegal and unsuccessful," Hammond is expected to warn the Islamic Republic, "and the Royal Navy stands ready to join any action to keep the Strait open.

"Disruption to the flow of oil through the Straits of Hormuz would threaten regional and global economic growth... It is in all our interests that the arteries of global trade are kept free, open and running."